Mayerling (1968)
10/10
Do You Know Your Genealogy?
5 November 2013
As non-German speaking member of the European Commonwealth I want to make statement on the common, I presume, genealogical heritage of all Europeans. The cultural issues from the movie "Mayerling" (1968) lay as background only to much more important problems of today. I am worried to think that the still actualized division of Europe into Western and Eastern compartments could reflect unbeneficial to whatever meaningful strategy in the future. The only common denominator for this division is the existence of Nuclear Power Plants of Soviet Union design (formerly) in this geographical region from Central Europe to the Black Sea aquatorial zone. But do we know our common history, and think about it, do Americans divide their United States to Western and Eastern parts? Or do Turkey contemplate to remain a buffer zone between Europe and Middle East solely because global politicians couldn't devise a mechanism to measure the extent of cryto-Christianity in these countries?

I talk now for the film "Mayerling" (1968) and then for its forbearing, the Holy Roman Empire. The plot is trivial enough to deserve attention which is a suicide attempt of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover Mary Vetsera, played by Omar Sharif and Catherine Deneuve. Sharif performs brilliantly in another historical personages of his acting career (he played in "Genghis Khan" (1965), "Che!" (1969) and as Sultan Hassan in "Harem" (1986)). I look forward to find the two-part movie under Henri Verneuil's directorship about the Armenian Genocide - "Mayrig" (1991) and "588 Rue Paradis" (1992), dubbed in English since I don't understand the original French soundtrack. So also the titular movie present Emperor Franz-Josef (played by James Mason, the longest ruling Monarch in European History with 68 years reign 1848-1916) and Empress Elizabeth of Bavaria (played by Ava Gardner, recognized as the most beautiful women of 19th century). Mayerling locations were shot in Boulogne Studio in France which depicted the Habsburg Palaces and its environment as exact replica of the reality. Not many people now-a-days know that Paris and Vienna were the two utmost achievements of Baroque Architecture in Middle Ages!

I also made effort to trace the origin of Bulgarian kingship in Modern Times. It stems from Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Sophie of Saxe-Hildburghausen which had 10 children from the lineage House of Wettin, Saxony. Their descendants established ruling houses in Belgium, United Kingdom, Portugal and Bulgaria. Son Leopold ruled as Leopold I of the Belgians. Male-line great-grandson reigned as Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Another grandson reigned as king Ferdinand II of Portugal. Leopold I of Belgium's daughter was Empress Carlota of Mexico. Furthermore, the great-grandson and nephew of Ferdinand II of Portugal ruled as Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.
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